The Scottish government plans to introduce eight new bills for the 2015-16 session of the Scottish Parliament. Here is a look at those bills, external in more detail.
Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm Bill
It promises to modernise the criminal law to" better reflect" the nature and experience of domestic abuse.
The Bill will aim to:
create a new offence of sharing private intimate material
require judges to give juries specific directions when dealing with sexual offence cases
enhance protections for victims of harassment
give Scottish prosecutors and courts powers in relation to existing child sexual offences when committed elsewhere in the UK
reform the system of civil orders to enhance the protections available for communities from sex offenders and to help prevent sexual harm.
Bankruptcy Consolidation Bill
The Scottish government said it was "committed" to modernising debt management and debt relief, ensuring the options available to help people in financial difficulty were "appropriate for the 21st century".
It added that a series of legislative changes had resulted in the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985 losing "coherence and structure".
The government said this new bill would make the legislation more accessible for practitioners and those affected by it, "saving time and money".
Budget Bill
The government's legislative programme will be completed by a Budget Bill, setting out overall spending for the year ahead.
Burial and Cremation Bill
This bill will serve to implement recommendations made by the Bonomy Commission on the cremation of infants and children.
The government says the legislation will put in place arrangements to "address the growing pressure on burial grounds in Scotland" and will introduce new regulation and inspection arrangements for crematoriums, burial authorities and the funeral industry.
Lobbying Bill
This bill promises to "further improve" the public awareness of lobbying activity directed at MSPs and ministers.
It will take account of the findings of the recent inquiry by the Scottish Parliament's Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee into lobbying in Scotland and will introduce a "measured and proportionate register of lobbying activity".
Private Tenancies Bill
The Scottish government said it wanted to give tenants in the private rented sector "increased security", while giving landlords, lenders and investors the "confidence to continue investing in the sector".
It said that if such aims were achieved, there would be more "predictable rents and protection for tenants" against excessive rent increases.
Scottish Elections (dates) Bill
This bill would ensure that the Scottish Parliament elections - after the May 2016 elections - would not coincide with the next scheduled UK general election in May 2020.
The plan would be to introduce it once an order under the Scotland Act (1998) has been approved by the Westminster and Scottish parliaments to devolve the necessary legislative rules.
Specifically, the bill would propose a five-year term for the next Scottish Parliament. If passed, this would move the election scheduled in May 2020 to May 2021.
Scottish Fiscal Commission Bill
The Scottish government wants the Scottish Fiscal Commission to be given a statutory footing.
The bill would give the commission the authority to scrutinise tax forecasts and other fiscal projections prepared by the Scottish government.
The government added that while the initial remit of the legislation would be "proportionate to the fiscal powers devolved to the Scottish Parliament", it would also create a platform to expand the functions of the Commission as new fiscal powers were devolved.
The bill would require the commission to publish reports setting out its assessment of;
forecasts of receipts from the devolved taxes
the assumptions made in relation to the economic determinants underpinning forecasts of receipts from non-domestic rates
forecasts of receipts from income tax attributable to a Scottish rate
Scottish ministers' projections as to their borrowing requirements.
Other bills
The government said that in the first year of the next Scottish Parliament, a Social Security Bill would be introduced which would deliver the new social security powers heading to Holyrood from Westminster.
Ms Sturgeon said it would be "wide-ranging" and contain a specific provision to abolish the so-called "bedroom tax" and introduce "flexibilities" for those in receipt of Universal Credit.
This bill is dependent on the current SNP government winning the Holyrood election on 5 May, 2016.
There are other bills from last year's legislative programme that have yet to complete every parliamentary stage. They include the Land Reform Bill; the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill; the Education (Scotland) Bill and the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Bill.
- Published1 September 2015
